Island



' (No Model.)

' H. E. GRDSSWELL RAIL FASTENING DEVICE.

No. 362,428. Patented May 3, 1887.

-NITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

HERBERT E. OROSSWELL, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR- OF ONEHALF TO WALTER A. GRlFFlTH, OF SAME PLACE.

RAIL-FASTENING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 362,428, dated May 3,1887.

I Application filed December 8, 1886. Serial No. 220,987. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, HERBERT E. Cnoss WELL, of Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Fastening Devices, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

This invention relates to a device for fastening ordinary railway-rails in operative position upon the cross-ties and securely maintaining the same in place.

The method of fastening rails by driving spikes into the cross-ties is-objectionable, for the reason that the frequent replacement of worn rails causes the ties to become too mutilated for use, thereby necessitating renewal, and moreover the spikes cannot be tightened up as often as desired.

One object of my invention is to prevent mutilation of the crosst-ies in replacing the rails and to permit of the same cross-ties being used a number of times.

Another object of my invention is to render the fastening. device permanent and adjustable to take up-auy loosening.

Another object of my invention is to provide a fastening device that will lock the rail immovably in position.

To the above purposes my invention consists in the novel constructions and arrangements of the several parts of the device, all as and for the purpose hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, Figure 1 represents a perspective view of a section of a railway'rail provided at opposite sides of the base with my improved fastening devices, the crosstie being shown in relative position, as in portion and in broken lines. Fig. 2 represents a vertical cross-sec tion of a cross-tie having a portion of a rail mounted thereon and provided with my fastening device. Fig. 3 represents a similar view as shown in Fig. 2, with another form of my fastening device.

In the said drawings like numbers of reference designate corresponding parts through out.

Referring to the drawings, 5 designates a way-rail having a flat base, 6, extending to each side of the web of the rail. The rail is mounted across the upper face of the cross-tie 7, which is formed with a socket, 8, and a horizontal socket, 9, communicating therewith and extending to one of the side faces of the cross'tie.

The screw-bolt 10 is a cylindrical bolt having the head thereof screw-threaded to receive vthe nut 11, and the foot thereof perforated, as

at 12, to receive the locking-pin 13.

The clamp -plate 14 is a flat rectangular plate formed with the central opening, 15, to receive the scr ew-bolt, and has one face cut away, as at 16, in order to snugly fit the convexity of the rail-base, as shown in Fig. 1.

The screw-bolt 10 is shown in Fig. 3 as having themainpartinclined to the screw-threaded head portion, and the socket 8 is formed accordingly inclined instead of .vertieal, as in Fig. 2. In this construction the perforated foot of the screw-bolt projects out of one of the side faces of the cross-tie, and is there held by the locking-pin 13,which takes against the cross-tie, and thereby avoids the necessity of the horizontal socket 9 for the pin. The horizontal socket 9 is made of less diameter than the lockingpin 13, so that when the pin is driven in the socket it may be tightly fixed therein. g

The screw-bolt is first setdown in the socket 8 until the perforation 12 registers with the horizontal socket 9, and then the locking-pin 13 is driven into position through the perforation and across the socket S, as clearly indicated in Fig. 2. The screw-bolt and locking pin are thus made permanent fixtures in the cross-tie, and the bolt is held rigidly in position. WVhen the rail is placed in position, the clamp-plate 14 is set down over the screw-bolt, so that the cut-away portion may engage the rail-base, and then the nut 11 is screwed down tightly against the plate let, which will thereby clamp and hold the rail as desired.

I prefer to locate the fastening devices in pairs on the cross-ties, as shown in Fig. 1, in order to clamp the rail at opposite points and securely hold it in position.

portion of an ordinary form of metallic rail- By virtue of my improved device the rails can be readily replaced by unscrewing the nut and removing the clamp-plate. XVhen the clamp-plate becomes loose, the nuts may be adjusted to make the plates bind the rail. The same cross-tie and set of fastening devices can be used for a number of renewed rails, and since the devices always remain in the same sockets the crossties do not become mutilated in replacing the rails, and the fasteners will always be efiicient.

My fastening device may be used with advantage at the rail-joints by broadening the clamp-plate, so that it may overlap each of the abutting-rail ends of the joint, so as to bind equally on each rail and hold the rails in alignment.

There may be various modifications made in the principal parts of my invention without, however, making a substantial departure from the spirit of the same, as herein fully described and claimed.

I am aware of the heretofore construction, wherein rail-ehairs or clamping-plates are clamped upon the rail by means of screwbolts which interlock near their lower ends,

so as to confine said bolts into fixed positions. I therefore disclaim, broadly, the use of screw- 1 bolts for holding clamping-plates in position; but,

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Pateut- 1. The combination of the cross-tie 7, provided with the socket 8, the rail 5, the screwbolt 10, provided with the perforation 12 at the foot thereof for the locking-pin, the clampplate 14, having the opening to receive the screw-bolt, the nut 11, Working on the screwbolt and adapted to bind upon the clamp-plate, and the locking-pin 13, taking in the perforation 12, substantially as herein described. I

2. The combination of the rail 5, the crosstie 7, provided with the vertical socket 8 and the communicating horizontal socket 9, the screw-bolt 10, having the perforation 12 at the foot thereof for the locking-pin, the clampplate 14, provided with the opening 15 to receive the screwbolt, the nut-11, working on the screw-bolt and acting to bind upon the clamp-plate, and the locking-pin l3, substantially as herein described.

HERBERT E. CROSS\VE LL.

Witnesses:

\VALTER A. GRIFFITH, J osnrn A. MILLER, Jr. 

